Best rail pass for 3 days in Lucerne

I'm having trouble figuring out if I should buy a rail pass and which one or if I should just buy point to point tickets. Here is my itinerary:

day 1: travel from hotel near Zurich airport to Lucerne and then go to Mt Rigi, stay in hotel in Lucerne.

day 2: Mt Titlis

day 3: GoldenPass to at least Interlaken, go to Harder Klum and one of the lakes, return to Lucerne and pick up luggage and then on to Zurich hotel near airport. Possibly go beyond Interlaken if time permits.

I'm most interested in help with rail passes. I would also welcome suggestions about my itinerary. The hotels are fixed, but everything else is flexible.

I would also like to know how to use the passes like the Swiss Pass. If I have a pass, do I still need to get a ticket before boarding a train? Or do I just get on any train and find a seat? Having not traveled by train before, I don't know the procedures.

Thanks.

Hi davidareid, thanks for joining us!

I think your itinerary looks fine. A rail pass will be convenient for your plans. I suggest you compare a 3 day Swiss Travel Pass and a Swiss Half Fare Card. All details are at the pages I linked to. The Swiss Travel Pass would be more convenient as it allows free and ticketless traveling on most routes (even all the way to the Rigi; further mountain transportation is discounted), but the Swiss Half Fare Card may turn out to be cheaper. You'd have to make calculations to be sure though, as explained here.

Seat reservations aren't necessary. Whether or not you still need an additional ticket, depends on the type of pass you pick. With a Swiss Travel Pass you don't need anything extra for regular trains/buses/boats, with a Swiss Half Fare Card you'll have to get a 50% discounted ticket for each trip before boarding.

Hi,

My wife will be in lucerne for 3 full days,just like you.

We will also be coming from Zurich airport and leaving through there.

You mentioned day 2 , but why not go to Mt Pilatus.

Also if day one is going to Mt Rigi, why go to another mountain day 2?

Have you figured out which pass to get yet?

Hi strpyw,

We picked Rigi because it is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass, it is lower elevation, and it has good hiking trails. We picked Titlis because it is higher elevation and snow covered year round. So I think those 2 will both be very scenic but in different ways. Pilatus looks awesome also, but time is limited and the Golden Pass to Interlaken adds more variety than another mountain peak.

I'm pretty sure we will do the 3 day 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass. I think it is the cheapest option. And as Annika mentioned, it will be more convenient since we won't have to buy tickets for each route, just get on and go.

So I bought the same pass mentioned above.

My first day in Lucerne, arriving by noon, from Zurich, would to go to Mt.Rigi.

The next day, i want to take the Golden Pass, leaving Lucerne at 7 am and continue until Montreux, for the third leg is supposedly the most worthwhile to see. Then as soon as possible will return on the Golden Pass in reverse direction to get to hotel at Lucerne at night.

Third day i would use the pass to see the large museum in Lucerne, check out by noon and go to hotel by Zurich Airport , then use the pass to do whatever I can see in Zurich until night.

Does this make sense?

Sounds like a good plan! Just be sure to check the daily weather forecasts so you can adapt if necessary.

Have fun!

For Day 2, instead of doing Golden Pass, how about doing the Wilhelm Tell route, since it was said going both directions would see different thing.

"Although the official Wilhelm Tell Express is very special, you can travel the same route by regular boats and trains without paying the surcharge. Swiss rail passesare valid for all the boats and trains."

Exactly how i can use it with the swiss travel pass?

Please advise, and do you think Wilhelm Tell is better than Golden Pass if i want to see Switzerland.

Hi strpyw,

You simply board with a valid Swiss Travel Pass in hand, so it's very easy. I am not sure what you mean by "going both directions would see different thing". That would apply if you take a different route back, not if you take the same route back. You can go back through trains only instead of the boat again. I would recommend that anyway as taking the boat twice takes quite long.

Both routes are very nice. Please find all details here so you can make a choice:

• myswissalps.com/ goldenpass
• myswissalps.com/ wilhelmtellexpress